A defeat in the parliamentary vote has thrown the conservative-liberal four-party coalition in Slovakia into a lurch.

The government partners overwhelm each other with accusations and insults.

On the other hand, the leader of the social democratic party Smer-SD, which will rule until 2020, triumphs, former Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Stephen Lowenstein

Political correspondent based in Vienna.

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The vote was about him.

The police are accusing Fico and his former interior minister, Robert Kaliňák, of abusing their former positions of power to spy on and discredit competitors.

Kaliňák, who no longer has a seat in parliament, has already been taken into custody.

The police also see a risk of collusion in the case of Fico, but an extradition decision by parliament would be necessary for arrest.

After several days of debate, the motion missed the required majority of 75 votes by one vote on Wednesday evening.

Fico describes the allegations as politically motivated intrigue.

New dispute with liberal coalition partner

Opposition deputies from various factions voted against the motion, including those who split from Smer-SD after the party split.

The deputies of the party "We are family" represented in the government by parliament speaker Boris Kollár did not vote for it either, but abstained.

Nevertheless, it would have been enough for a narrow majority if two MPs from the conservative ruling party Olano (“Ordinary People”) had voted in favor of the motion.

After failing to do so, the two were expelled from the Olano faction as late as Wednesday evening.

The party has Prime Minister Eduard Heger as the strongest force.

Party leader Igor Matovič had to resign as head of government last year because of a coalition dispute and is now finance minister.

Matovič and Heger are now damaged in the already fragile construct.

Richard Sulik, Economics Minister and head of the liberal SaS party, known for his sharp tongue, immediately rubbed salt in the wound: Matovič was "defeated not only by his favorite coalition partner ("We are family"), but also by his own MPs".

During the 2020 election campaign, Matovič presented himself as the guarantor that the corruption and mafia-like entanglements of the previous Fico governments would be cleaned up.

Matovič immediately countered Sulik and speculated that Sulik now wanted to blackmail the government in social policy issues.

The SaS is "vain and malicious".

Nevertheless, the end of the government is unlikely: none of the coalition partners has an interest in early elections.

As for Fico, the failed parliamentary vote does not prevent the authorities from investigating and prosecuting him.

Thus, the actual decision on the allegations and thus Fico's future should be made in court.